The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1887-01-20
eofter in tone, as if certais austerity wa.
"Step in as quick as you like, gentlemen.
You've five minutes to wait, Bill"

"Step in as quick as you like, gentlemen.
You've five minutes to wait, Bill"
The passengers re-entered the coach; the
driver and express messenger hurriedly
climbed to their places. Hale would have
spoken, but an impatient gesture from his
companions stopped him. They were evil
IDENTIFY listening for something; he listened
too.
Yet the silence remained unbrolxen. 1t
seemed incredible that there should be no in
dication near or far Of that forceful presence
which moment ago had been SO dominant.
No rustic in the wayside "brush" nor echo
from the rocky canyon below betrayed a
sound of their flight. A faint breeze stirred
the tall tips Of the pines, cone dropped on
the stage roof, one Of the invisible horses,
that seemed to be listening too, moved slight
ly in his harness. But this only appeared to
accentuate the profound stiffness. The mo-
ments were growing interminable, when the
voice, SO near as to startle Hale, broke once
more from the surrounding obscurity.
"Good night"
1t was the signal that they were free. The
drivers whip cracked like e pistol shot, the
horses sprang furiously forward the huge We
hicle lurched ahead and then bounded vio-
lently after them. When Hale could make
his voice heard in the confusion-a confusion
which seemed greater from the colorless in
tensity of their last few moments experience
he said hurriedly, "Then that fellow was
there all the time?"
II reckon" returned his companion, che
stopped five minutes to cover the driver with
his double barrel, until the two other men
got off with the treasure"
"The two others!" gasped Hale "Then
there were only three men, and we six"
The man shrugged his shoulders The pas
senger who had given up the greenbacks
drawled, with a slow, irritating tolerance,
II reckon you're stranger here's"
II am-to this sort of thing, certainly,
though live dozen miles from here, at Ea-
giles Court returned Hale scornfully.
"Then YOU'RE the chap that's doin' that
fancy ranchin' over at Eagles" continued
the man lazily.
"Whatever I'm doing at Eagles Court Pm
not ashamed of it," said Hale tartly; "and
that's more than can say Of what I've done
or haven't done-to-night I've been one of
six men overawed and robbed by three =
"As to the overawin', ez you call it-meb-
be you know more about it than u.s. As to
the robbin'-ez far as kin remember, you
haven't onloaded much Eff you're talkin'
about what oughter've been done, I'll tell you
what could have happened. Pr'aps ye no
ticed that when he pulled up made kind
of grab for my weeping behind mes"
II did; and you weren't quick enough
said Hale shortly.
81 wasn't quick enough, and that saved
you. For eff got that pistol out and in sight
O. that man that held the gun -"
'Well," said Hale impatiently, she'd have
hesitated."
He'd hev blown you with both barrels
outer the window, and that before I'd got a
half cock on my revolver"
''But that would have been only one man
| gone, and there would have been i've of you
left" said Hale haughtily.
"That might have been eff you'd contracted
| to take the hull charge of two handfuls Of
buckshot and slugs; but ez one-eighth of that
amount would have done your business, and
| yet left enough to have gone round, promis
kiss, and satisfied the other passengers, il
wouldn't do to kalkilate upon"
| "But the express messenger and the driver
were armed" continued Hale.
"They were armed, but not fxed thai
makes all the difference"
| tsT donst understand
"I reckon you know what duel is?'
| eYes.n
"Well, the chances agin us was about the
same as you'd have eff you was pat up agir
another chap who was allowed to draw {
bead on you, and the signal to fire was you
drawin' your weapon. You may be {
stranger to this sort O. thing, and p'r'aps yot
wouldn't go foolin' your life away on any
such chances"
Something In the mans manner, as in
certain sly amusement the other passenger
appeared to extract from the conversation
impressed Hale, already beginning to be con
scious of the ludicrous insuff1ciency of his owl
grievance beside that of his interlocutor
"Then you mean to say this thing is in
evitable," said he bitterly, but less aggres
sively.
"Ez long ez they hunt you; when you hun
them you've got the adv vantage, allus pro
vided you know how to get at them ez wei
as they know how to get st you This ye
coach is bound to go regular, and on certain
days. They amt. By the time the sheriff
gets out his posse they've skedaddled, and tn
leader, like as not, is takin' his quiet cocktail
at the Bank Exchange, or mebbe losin' hi
earnings to the sheriff over draw poker il
Sacramento. You see you can't prove any
thing agin them unless you take them son tn
fy.' 1t may be a part of joaquin Murietta'
band, though wouldn't swear to it."
"The leader might have been Gentlema
George, from up country" interposed pas
senger t'He seemed to throw in few fame
touches, particlerly in that Good night
Sorter chucked little sentiment in il
Didn't seem to be the same thing ez Git, We
id suckers on the other line"
GWhoever he was he knew the road an
the men who travelled on it. Like ez not b
went over the line beside the driver on th
box on the down trip, and took stock G
everything He even knew 1 had thos
greenbacks, though they were handed to m
in the bank at Sacramento. He must hav
been hangin' round there"
For some moments Hale remained silent
He was a civic-bred man, with an intense Low
of law and order; the kind of man who is th
first to take that law and order into his ow
hands when he does not find it existing [
please him. He had Bostonian's respect fc
respectability, tradition and propriety, bu
was willing to face irregllarity and imprt
priety to create order elsewhere He wa
fond of nature with these limitations, neve
quite trusting her unguided instincts, an
finding her as an instructress greatly il
ferior to Harvard university, though poss
bly, not to Cornell. With dauntless entel
prise and energy lie had built and stocked
charming cottage farm in a nook in tt
/ Sierras, whence he opposed. like the lesse
e. e. @ 9 =, sir